Packers Season Tickets

As I'm in the states for a few days and getting to spend the first part of it with my mom, I've been able to go through some mail.  Well good news folks, I'm moving up in my quest for Green Bay Packers season tickets!

It might take a few decades though as I'm number 62,322 in line...

Factory lunch

Interrupting the fun of Bhutan to go get back to work!  Back in October my boss from NY was here and we have had an insanely packed schedule.  Over the weekend to Taiwan, getting back Sunday night late. Then Monday a pick up at 6AM to go back to the airport to visit an outdoor supplier who is located between SH and Beijing.

At the airport I went to the rest room and upon getting done went to pull up the zipper on my jeans.  Well the zipper broke with the tines literally pulling away from the jeans (nice crappy Chinese quality huh?).  Now my zipper is broke and I'm about to start my day with a flight.  So I did the only thing possible which was to untuck my shirt and wrap my fleece jacket around my waist, making me look like an over grown teenager.  So keep in mind as you read the rest of the story that this is all done with the barn door being open!

Upon getting to the factory we find out that the local government office is excited to have us there as they want to further develop their economic zone.  So we are "invited" (read: forced!) to go to a meeting at their offices and then to lunch, where we are warned that heavy duty drinking is in store for us!

Upon entering the gov't office there is an electronic sign saying "Welcome Richloom Fabrics."  My first thought was uh-uh we are in for trouble.  Well it got better as they put us in a conference room that had over 30 chairs and we literally had name badges as to where to sit.  The name badge had my first, middle and last name on it.  This means that the gov't party has looked us up, checked out my visa, understands I live in China, etc.

 The meeting lasted about 20 minutes, all in Chinese before they took us to lunch.  Below you will see the photo of the table and the massive lazy susan.  I've been to a lot of nice Chinese places but this was one of the best settings.  In fact the lazy susan actually was motorized and therefore was constantly turning slowly.  First time I had ever seen that. 

 The funniest part was that the whole time we were eating in this nice big room and the waitresses were serving food was that a couple of additional servers were walking all around with fly swatters trying to kill the flies!

Meanwhile my fly is still wide open but hopefully covered up by my shirt most of the time.  It was only a few minutes into lunch when they tried to bring out the Baiju (Chinese fire breathing whiskey if you ask me!).  We turned that down and finally agreed on beer.  Well these turned out to be professional drinkers, priding themselves and getting us to drink as much as possible.  Each time walking around the table to greet us, cheers with us and then do the Gambei (bottom's up) cheers!

All in all a memorable experience.  

Bhutan - Day 4

Day 4 was supposed to be an "easier" day and even shorter.  Well it didn't turn out that way for sure.

We left camp and embarked on a 90minute descent into the valley.  It was more technical than the day before but going downhill made it quite fun.  Then began the uphill portion which appeared from a visual inspection to be insane and go on and on forever!  We were to climb to over 4,100m (13,450ft).  A few minutes into the ascent a light rain started.  The guide said it would be light and wouldn't last long.  So we climbed to an area in the woods that was protected a bit and decided we would have tea/coffee and follow that with lunch.  Well we had the tea/coffee and then out of no-place the rain suddenly turned into hail!  We decided to skip the lunch and get to our camp which was about 2.5 hours away.

 A nice simple downhill was a good way to start things out...

 It was here where we crossed a small creek early in the morning that our feet began to get just a bit wet, which would not be fun as the day went on.

 Our guide, Pema, getting a little rest on the side of the horse before our coffee break.

 Here is where we stopped for the planned lunch.

 And here you see the hail getting a bit stronger as a few of the folks decided to get on the horses to go a little bit faster.

 Yeah it's hailing a bit harder isn't it?

 By this point we were all freezing cold and soaking wet from head to toe.  While we had some rain gear we probably weren't prepared (nor were our guides) for the onslaught of snow/hail.

While there were complaints about the weather that day, I personally thought the day was a blast!  The snow/hail created a whole different complication and technical aspect to the climb.  While it was cold, the ground never got slick so it didn't seem too dangerous.  Although it did for the tour company owner.  She was totally unprepared for the weather and was already a slow hiker.  She finished probably an hour after us and only after one of the guides went to find her and make sure she safely got to our camp.

Finally at camp we see the hail has left a fair amount of snow on the ground.  You can see another campground in the back right of the photo.   Unfortunately when we got there we were only shortly behind our guides so they only had the ability to get the dining tent up and everything was thrown in to keep it dry.  So all five of us jumped in this small place, scurried around looking for dry clothes...hopefully.

 After about an hour the hail had stopped and we were warming up.  Lunch was served (although it was about 4PM) and from there we were feeling better.  There was concern about our boots and clothes we had worn.  It was going to be impossible for them to dry by morning and we still had two days of trekking to go.

The night before we learned that bonfires are strictly not allowed in the mountains because of fear of forest fires.  Bhutan doesn't have helicopters to help fight the forest fires so basically when there is one (and they are common due to lightening) then all the locals climb into the mountains to fight them.

However we had convinced the guides the night before that this evening we should find a way to have a fire.  Their answer was they would "try" to accommodate our request.  Thankfully they came through.  As you see below in the photo one of the people used the fire to warm the feet.  We also used it to dry our clothes as best we could.

 Nothing like some wine and whiskey to warm us up after the hike.

 Nearing sunset the weather had chilled and it became beautiful...but still chilled.

 Below is a Bhutan custom called "Beetlenut".  The beetlenut is chewed to give the body warmth, although in Taiwan they also eat beetlenut as a stimulant often used to keep truck drivers awake for a long time.

We all decided to try and figured since we were still chilled this would be the perfect time.  As you see you have the bettlenut on the left, a white paste on the leaf and then the leaf itself.  The paste is actually crushed limestone and the leaf comes from a subtropical environment in Bhutan.  You put it in your mouth, chew it up, occasionally spit the excess liquid that forms and chew it all as long as you can.  It's rather biter and when the nut breaks up it breaks into tons of pieces in my mouth.  The spit that is produced is bright red.  All five of us gave it a try with some chewing it to completion.

After the long, cold and wet day, we totally loved the bonfire and hung out until the wood was gone before heading to bed.

Bhutan Day 3 - The Start of Druk Trek

The Druk Trek Path begins.  Our trek was a 4 night, 5 day trek from Paro town to Thimpu City.  Over a couple of mountain passes, reaching heights over 14,000 feet above sea level.  However since this vacation had limited time our plan was to do it in 3 nights and 4 days, meaning we did 2x the norm on day one...straight up the damn mountain!

So getting started their were five of us, plus the tour guide owner (turns out it was her first trip ever), our guide, 3 horsemen, 2 cooks and 12 mules/horses.  We actually paid for 2 of the horses in case we needed help on the trek and couldn't walk further.

 We left Paro Town at 9:30AM prepared for a long day of trekking, expecting to get to our campsite between 5-6PM.

As we went along in the heat of the morning the scenery simply got more and more stunning.

I loved looking down on the town in the distance and the bright red chili peppers drying out in the sun! The sun during the first 2/3 of that day's hike was brutally hot as we hiked up, up and more up.  The paths were mostly clear and free of any sort of tree cover.

As we got higher there was a long hike through a muddy forest that was much cooler which made the trek more comfortable and different in a technical way.

 Lots more chilli peppers!

 Some villagers heading down to the city...

 "Versase" shirt out in the middle of no man's land...

 Notice the ladder in the lower left.  This is how the owners enter their home/farm daily.  It's built like this to keep the random farm animals from destroying the crops.

 The horse in the front with the red wig also had a bell on.  This was the lead horse that all other horses would follow thanks to the vivid color and the noises made with each step.

Around 5:30 PM we finally found out camp site!  Utter exhaustion had slowed us significantly the past hour or so.  We couldn't wait to get to camp, grab some food, drink some wine and relax.  In reality the sun went down around 6 and probably by 8:15 we were all dead asleep.  Although I did wake hourly thanks to the rocks under my tent, but I still slept remarkably well.  Refreshed for the next day, which had to be easier!

Bhutan - Day 2

So day two was a Sunday which started harmlessly enough with a visit to a local farmer market.  Was similar in many ways to ones I've been to elsewhere with the exception that cows and other animals were walking around and their was a fair amount of cow and horse poop on the ground, typically right near the fresh food!  As was normal we saw plenty of color and great opportunities for photos...

 No this is not child imprisonment, he was just on the other side of the fence...

Two of my friend looking to buy some spoons...

 When I took this he actually moved his hat to the proper front facing way but I made him put it back like it was originally.  He is bringing the gangster look to Bhutan!

After the farmers market we took our first real hike.  From 2,000m up to 2,900m or so (approximately 9,514 ft) to begin acclimating to altitude in a real sense before our trek started the next day.  We visited one of the most famous areas and most photographed called the Tigers Nest built on the side of a sheer wall.  Incredibly it burned in the 1980's and they rebuilt it.  We were able to walk all the way there and go inside.  But given it's highly protected status no cameras, cell phones or other devises were allowed inside this temple.  In fact a dress code was highly enforced.  No tights for the women, no shorts, no pants with holes in them etc.

And yes a photo of me just so you know I was actually here.

This hike was mostly up stone steps after about the 1/2 way point.  There was actually a rest stop with tea/coffee that we chilled at for a while before finishing the upward climb.  Then on the descent our guide actually had someone bring us a meal that we ate like a picnic on the side of the mountain.

For dinner we actually went to a local farmhouse and ate with them.  It was quite neat to see the house, made essentially out of packed mud and a little bit of structural support.  It was well insulated but smelled like a farmhouse.  The owner of the home had in the past cooked for the royal family but has since retired and his kids were grown up, leaving just 4 people living there.  We found out the average family in the urban areas has 5 kids whereas the countryside is more an average of 7.  We all enjoyed our time there but wished it was a house that still had a range of kids living there so we could really experience it.  Here is a photo of some of my friends with the husband and wife who shared their home with us...

After this long day we start our true trek through the mountains to another city on Day 3, so more to come.

Bhutan! Day 1

I just got back from vacation in Bhutan.  An amazing 8 days in a very remote country that is certainly way behind in terms of being westernized.  IE no McDonald's, Starbucks or much else that is recognized.  My world phone didn't work, my blackberry didn't get emails...it was great!

This was the first photo I took upon getting off the plane in Paro, Bhutan.  You can only fly there from Bangkok or one city in India and must fly on Drukair.  According to what our guide told us they have only had one accident many years ago and that was a Taiwan pilot.  Since that happened only Bhutan pilots can fly in because navigating the mountains and winds makes it too challenging.

After settling in to our hotel and grabbing lunch we started the tourist bit.  Our first stop was to watch archery which is their national sport.  Sounds simple until you see that the target is 140meters (459ft) away!  Not only that but the other competitors stand within feet of the target and watch the arrows whip in.  We were scared and we were 10-20 feet away!

Next we were on to see a temple and a fortress.  We did a small amount of hiking to acclimate to the altitude.  Below is a photo from around the city that gives you an idea of just how beautiful things are.  Fresh air, blue skies, clear waters...all those things we don't have in Shanghai!

There were five of us on this trip and over the next few posts I will share many more photos and great experiences.  One of the most intriguing things about Bhutan is that you can't just decide to go.  You must actually buy a trip through one of the gov't controlled tour operators.  The idea is to prevent too much tourism and to prevent a rapid spread of Westernism (not really a word of course).  All tourists pay the same amount on a daily basis but that is all inclusive - guide, food, lodging, etc.  If you want additional luxuries you can pay more but generally speaking they limit the tourists.